Marine docks and piers, and the pilings provided for the support thereof, typically are provided with protective bumper coverings, both to absorb the impact of an approaching marine vessel and to receive the wear and chafe caused by movement of a docked vessel relative to the pier.
In accordance with the present invention, a new marine pier bumper assembly is provided which represents a significant improvement over arrangements presently utilized, in terms of both effectiveness in use and long term costs.
In accordance with one specific feature of the invention, a bumper assembly arrangement, known to be useful and effective in terms of absorbing direct impact at a truck loading dock for example, is modified in a novel and highly advantageous manner, to enable these desirable properties to be utilized in conjunction with the protection of marine pilings against both impact and chafe. In connection with truck dock loading bumpers, for example, it has been known to utilize laminated resilient plates, placed under compression, to absorb the impact of a truck backing up against a loading platform. Such bumpers have been commercially sold by Pawling Rubber Corporation, of Pawling New York. Pursuant to the present invention, a highly compressed laminated stack of resilient plates is formed to provide a partially cylindrical concavity on its inside surface, enabling the laminated assembly to receive and generally conform to a cylindrical marine piling. To advantage, a plurality of vertical stacks of the compressed, resilient plates are arranged in side-by-side fashion, on adjacent pilings, to form a relatively solid protective wall. The individual resilient plates desirably are formed of a rubberized fabric material, for which a suitable raw material is used, truck tires, for example.
The improved pier bumper of the invention is ideally suited for the severe marine environment of saline tidal waters and is capable of a long and effective operating life in such environment.